haven - zb1

36

As they neared the source of the noise, Zhang Hao came to an abrupt stop, everyone halting behind him to avoid a mass stumble.

Before Solar Hall, was a still spirit, lacking the usual bright green glow the spirits usually had.

Drawn to the Solar Hall, the nine approached the door, and Zhang Hao carefully tugged open the front doors of the Solar Hall.

Gyuvin sucked in a deep breath as they all took in the unfamiliar sight.

Solar Hall was overcome with a pale blue mist, nearly opaque, you could hardly see your extended hand before you, much less the end of the hall.

As most sensible people would, Zhang Hao wordlessly shut the door and slowly turned to face the others. "What do you think we should do?" He nervously asked, scanning all their equally lost faces.

Luckily, the question was answered for him, as a translucent blue rectangular form appeared right in front of the door, shocking poor Zhang Hao. As he nervously backed away, regular and orderly words began forming on the blue surface.

Stage 2: ??? and ?????

Task: Survive the mist

Reward: Progress to the next stage

Penalty: ?????

"Oh my god," Taerae said for the nth time today.

"Is this some sort of collective hallucination we're having?" Woohyun laughed nervously.

Quanrui helpfully released a few expletives, which earned a dirty look from Jiwoong.

Gunwook read the words over and over, his usually playful expression now serious and worried, "We just have to survive the mist. How bad could it be? Unless...there's something in the mist."

"Knowing the nature of the challenge, probably something yucky," Gyuvin stuck his tongue out in distaste. "Then...we have no choice. We have to move forward," Zhang Hao said, attempting to quell the quiver in his voice.

"Well then," Jiwoong gestured to the shut doors, "Be our guest, Zhang Hao."

Begrudgingly, Zhang Hao twisted to face the doors again, delicately wrapping his fingers over the handles and slowly pulling them open. Surprisingly, the mist didn't budge, staying right in the room, not crossing the boundaries of the hall.

Hanbin stepped up to Zhang Hao's side, giving the latter a boost of confidence. Together, the duo entered, followed by the other seven. They got perhaps a couple meteres into the room, when the doors forcefully swung shut, earning a startled yelp from Taerae. With the doors shut, there was even less light, vision becoming even less ideal.

The mist was dense and damp, icy cold on their skin and condensing at their lashes. "Just feels like...weird fog," Hanbin commented, his voice sounding hazy and far-away. Soft footsteps echoed around the space, suggesting one of them was cautiously exploring.

Metal whined as Yujin's borrowed spear scraped the floor, bringing it before him to guide him and save him from stumbling into obstacles. "The Hall seems to have extended," He yelled over his shoulder, hoping the others managed to catch his words.

Then, as he walked, he suddenly felt the spear poke into something. It was too squishy to be a wooden pillar or wall, but sturdy enough to block his blade. Apprehensive, Yujin tried to yank the spear back, but felt resistance. He tugged again, and his weapon moved, but it brought along whatever it was attached to - the unmistakably rotting but still standing corpse of a man.

Yujin screamed in terror, which everyone heard. "Yujin!" Gyuvin yelled, withdrawing his sword from its scabbard as he tried to run towards Yujin's voice, which was tough, since they were all so disoriented.

Quanrui was now very, very tense, swivelling around as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. He heard a strange, laboured breathing behind him, narrowly missing the lunging corpse as he ducked. "What in the everloving fuck-" Quanrui threw his hands out, but because he was now an air user, all the convulsing corpse received was a pleasant blast of air to the face.

"Quanrui? Where are you-" Jiwoong's words were cut off as he grunted, a dull thud was heard, before a jet of water was released, and a corpse was sent flying against the wall.

"We're being attacked by the undead!" Gunwook shouted as he jabbed his spear forward, stopping another corpse in its tracks and flinging it to a side. "Guys, we have to be careful, we don't want to hurt each other!" Zhang Hao's urgent and terrified voice pleaded.

Everything was just plain horrifying, Zhang Hao and Quanrui were forced to rely on their physical abilities to fend for themselves, due to their unfamiliarity with their ability. They quickly backed into each other, and, with only each other to rely on, leaned against the other and fought.

Gunwook and Yujin, with a decent control of their powers, managed to give some of them vision as their burning flames pushed the chilly mist away. Gunwook hurled a fireball at one of the corpse, and it was easily incinerated. Since he had time to pause, he brought his gaze to the floor, and realised the corpse that Jiwoong had doused in water was melting into the ground.

"Guys, try and blast them with your powers!" Gunwook urged as he spun on the spot, desperately praying one of them heard.

Luckily, Hanbin and Woohyun were within earshot, and both released streams of earth, plants and flowers. "What a sight," Woohyun chuckled lightly as he looked at an unmoving corpse whose face was plastered with pretty pink flowers.

Once they understood the challenge, they started to rely on both their weapons and their abilities. Jiwoong tore his sword through the air, slicing at a corpse while also inviting water to seep into the cuts made in the corpse.

Yujin administered a ball of fire to the tip of his spear before sending it towards another corpse, effectively incinerating it from within.

Even Zhang Hao managed to get a hold of his new air powers, finding that funnelling a strong burst of wind in a small area was more effective than simply a wide blast to the face.

They worked efficiently and quickly, Gunwook even managed to laugh throughout, which was pretty disturbing, but they were all so focused on surviving regardless. As Woohyun cut through the last groaning corpse, everyone stopped to catch their breath, both drained from the fight and amazed they made it out alive.

Jiwoong paused as he noticed a certain corpse near him, still slowly dissolving into the floor. As the mist cleared, he took in the sight of a young, attractive man, eyes glazed and still, coated with burn marks. Painful recognition flashed in his eyes and Jiwoong stumbled out, Quanrui right behind him, before Jiwoong retched and collapsed to the ground.

Unsure what to do, Quanrui darted back to ghe hall for a quick look at the corpse before it finally disintegrated, and his face fell.

When he exited the hall, Hanbin was next to Jiwoong, murmuring gently to the pale man.

"What's wrong?" Gyuvin whispered to Quanrui, who grimaced, "I'm not too certain, but I think...that was the fire heir that died that day, the one who Jiwoong first came here with."

AN: That's all I have so far, I'll see you when I do